"Extra! Extra! The expedition to the Sun Moon Empire has won a great victory!" The newsboy waved the newspapers in his hand, his youthful voice ringing out.
An old man selling vegetables set down his shoulder pole and wiped away his sweat. "Have you heard? His Holiness the Pope led people across the sea and conquered that so-called Sun Moon Empire!"
The butcher beside him grinned and brought his cleaver down on the chopping block. "You bet! My boy's with the expeditionary army. Just yesterday, he sent word back through someone, saying they use iron ships and iron cannons over there. They're really something!"
"Iron ships? Iron can float?" A young man leaned over, looking unconvinced.
The butcher shot him a look. "His Holiness the Pope can even kill monsters from the Abyss. What's an iron ship compared to that? You don't know a damn thing!"
The young man hunched his shoulders and didn't dare say another word.
The old vegetable seller chuckled and pulled out money to buy two pounds of meat. "Iron ships or wooden ships, who cares? What matters is that we won. His Holiness the Pope said he's opening the ports for trade. Before long, all kinds of strange and wonderful things will be brought here. We'll get to see the world, too."
"Exactly!" chimed in the woman selling cloth beside them. "I heard they have something called Soul Tools over there. Even ordinary people can use them to make lights and fire cannons. If we could get one back, we wouldn't even need lamps at night!"
The crowd burst into laughter.
At the end of the street, a long line had formed outside the branch of Spirit Hall.
They were all young people hoping to enlist or learn the skills of a Soul Master. Ever